Monitor

Keyboard

Mouse

Details

CPU Clock Rate

CPU Temperature While Idle

34.0° C

CPU Temperature Under Load

41.0° C

GPU Core Clock Rate

1.137 GHz

GPU Effective Memory Clock Rate

7.01 GHz

GPU Temperature While Idle

35.0° C

GPU Temperature Under Load

42.0° C

Description

This is the first time I've put together a computer, and since a pre-built wasn't looking to be an option I decided to shop around PCPARTPICKER.ca until I was around my original price, plus the things that somehow snuck themselves into the build. This was meant to be $2400. GST and a better MOBO caused a bit of a stretch.

The pictures are taken with a crappy cell phone against drywall, for that I apologize. Also, I wish the sata cables were all the same color: stupid spare parts only being functional.

RAM: 32GB. I run a lot of VMs using VMware's Workstation 10. This is a machine used for working from home as well as games. There is nothing better then being able to take a snapshot, do something dumb, and then revert. I suspend VMs if I need the resources, but so far I haven't needed too.

CPU: i7-4770k. I will overclock this soon, but for now its stock. 41'C under load isn't even testing it yet.

Mobo: Asus Sabertooth z87. This was going to be the MSI Gaming G45. Somehow it made it's way into the budget. I do like Asus boards and can't complain about anything it brings to the table.

GPU: Gigabyte GTX7704GB. I debated the GPU for quite some time. SLI770's, a 780, a 760 even? I decided that although this thing can play games today at Ultra settings, I run 3 monitors and resolution matters so I needed the 4GB more than the SLI. Good card. Maybe I can get SLI in 2 years when I find its twin on sale.

Cooling: Nocturna. Whoa is that CPU cooler larger than it's picture. The thing is a beast and I actually prefer it over an liquid cooled option. No worries about it ever leaking, and it keeps everything silently cold. The other 3 Fans help for sure, I took out the ones that came with the case.

Case: Fractal. I really do enjoy the case, but there are a couple flaws that lost it a star in my book. I have 7 HDD's in the case, so the rubber grommet around the sata connections are full. This leaves no room for the USB3 connection or the PCI-E. It comes with a 5/7/12V fan controller that you would never use if you have a good MOBO or PSU. So, those are nicely wound up with a zip tie. SSDs are allowed to be placed on the back behind the mobo, but you need to screw them down before the MOBO and PSU are mounted, so hope you NEVER need to change them (plus, you need a straight sata connector which the PSU never came with).

HDDs: SSD for the OS and Games. WD Greens for Storage. Streaming to a WDlive might give 1 hiccup during a 2 hour movie that can be attributed to its 5400RPM. I didn't have that issue with the 2TBs. Only the 4TBs are new and everything is RAID1. I do have a 120GB raptor that I will be adding to fill the last bay later. This will be for a SQL VM.

PSU: Corsair 860i. Platinum PSU which is great in my books. I just wish it came with a couple of better connections for SATA drives. It just has the same (4sata) cord 3 times.

The rest: They're needed to run a PC, that's all. Dell keyboard? Cool, I can use it to hammer in a nail once it dies. The g500 mouse though I enjoy.

Looks really good man as far as everything but your WD Green HDD's go. Those things are ticking time bombs and are a total waste of money. Make sure you back up all your files or dispose them into the nearest trash receptacle immediately! Other than that, great build! +1